So Nice, Some Things Are Named Twice

The inspiration for this article came from watching Jeopardy! and a category was So Nice, They Had to Name It Twice.

There are many names of people, places, and things with double names. The technical word for this is called reduplication. You might be familiar with some of those reduplications or double words.

Below are some reduplications.

New York, New York

New York, New York is a familiar reduplication. Most reduplications have the first word or expression being the same as the second part, with the same meaning. However, the most familiar reduplication is New York, New York, in which the first half has a different meaning from the second half.

In the name New York, New York, the first part of the reduplication indicates the city. The second part of the reduplication indicates the state. To avoid confusing the city with the state, the word City is sometimes placed on the first part, such as New York City.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is a professional singer, songwriter, and actress. The celebrity chose to use Gaga as her stage name because it is much shorter than her real name. It just so happens to be a reduplication.

Germanotta uses the name Lady Gaga, which is derived from the rock group Queen's song Radio Ga Ga. However, there is no separation between the first and the second half of Lady Gaga's stage name.

Reduplications of Food

• Tartar is a sauce primarily composed of mayonnaise, finely chopped pickles, and lemon juice. Tartar sauce is used on fish and other foods.
• Pu Pu Platter is an assortment of Chinese hors d'oeuvres that diners usually order before their main meal. The menu features small meat and seafood appetizers .
• Couscous is a Moroccan national dish made from the hard part of the wheat grain. Water is used to bind two different sizes of the husked and crushed semolina.

Reduplications in Song Titles

• "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
• "Up, Up, and Away"
• "Quando, Quando, Quando"

Other Familiar Reduplications

• Ha Ha is sometimes said instead of laughing out loud when something is funny.
• Ho Ho is what Santa says. Sometimes there is a third "Ho."
• Mama is what babies say when they first learn to speak to their female parent.
• Dada is what babies say when they first learn to address their male parent.
• Night Night is what parents say to children when they put them to bed.
• My My is usually expressed when something is exciting or unique.
• Knock Knock are the first words at the beginning of a type of joke.
• So so is the reduplication used as a response to the question: "How are you?"
• Go Go was a very familiar dance during the disco era.
• Hush-hush is advice given after telling someone a secret or something confidential.
• Can Can was a once popular crinoline slip that made the dress or skirt very wide.
• Bye Bye is a reduplication some people use when they depart from each other.
• Rah, Rah is what cheerleaders say during their routine.
• Blah Blah is a sarcastic expression mocking talkative people.
• Tutu is an outfit worn by a ballerina.
• Rin Tin Tin is the name of a television dog.
• Yo-yo is a toy for children and adults.

• No-no is said to forbid or prohibit someone from doing something.
• Now now is an expression used to calm or chide someone.
• Choo-choo is a reduplication for a train.
• Bonbon is a type of candy.
• Dum-dum is a type of bullet, or a foolish person.
• Chop-chop is an informal expression meaning "hurry up."